Russia is always regarded fs the coming country but never seems to arrive. And so it turned out during the 1990s. Euphoria, inside the country and outside, greeted the demise of communism in December 1991. It was presumed that the application of western economic theory to Russia would transform the failed planned or command economy into a flourishing market economy in almost the twinkling of an eye. There would be some pain, like the pain of childbirth, but it would be short-lived. Russia would join the ranks of the 'civilised' countries. This expressive Russian term implies that Russia was previously viewed as barbaric, outside the gates of paradise.